Previous Sunday Services
2024
April 21, 2024
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
“Totality”
So many of us saw the eclipse a short while ago. The partial eclipse was visible all across the country. The total eclipse was visible only along a very particular path. "Where were you?" became the question we were asking because where we chose to be determined the experience that was possible. Is the same true in spiritual experience? Where we choose to be in spirit makes a difference.
April 14, 2024
Reflection by Jan Hutslar
“Born of the Same Atoms”
These words, taken from a poem by Clint Smith, frame an exploration of our interdependence with all life and the responsibility we have to each other because of that.
Rev. Jan Hutslar is in her sixth year as minister of the UU Congregation of the Upper Valley in Norwich. She went to Seminary at Starr King School for the Ministry and did her internship at First Parish in Concord, MA, and moved here in 2018. Jan's spirit is nourished here in the upper valley from the beauty and inspiration of the land and the power and resilience of being part of this faith community.
Video on YouTube will be available soon.
April 7, 2024
Reflection by Matthew Friedman, MD
“The past ain’t necessarily what it used to be.”
The boundaries between past, present and future aren’t necessarily fixed permanently and aren’t necessarily blocked off from each other. What this means is that sometimes, those barriers are fluid and may be breached. Sometimes we may discover an altered past, a past that isn’t necessarily written in stone, a past that differs from our remembered past in important ways. Indeed, when we make such a discovery, it may significantly change how we understand critical past events. It may also change how we consider our present selves. And such alterations in our memory of the past or our current beliefs about ourselves might affect future decisions.
Matt Friedman has spent the first 2 years of his retirement trying to keep up with his wife, Gayle Smith. This is not for the timid. He has found himself on ski slopes for the first time in 30 years, raising a rambunctious Black English Lab puppy, and trying (not too hard) to figure out what it all means. He also spends one morning a week as a volunteer physician at the free Good Neighbor Health Clinic. Before retirement he spent 50 years as a psychiatrist and pharmacologist at Dartmouth/Geisel Medical School & the VA Medical Center. He established VA’s National Center for PTSD in 1989 and the National PTSD Brain Bank in 2014.
Video on YouTube will be available soon.
March 31, 2024
Easter Sunday - Reflection by Gwen Groff
“Now the Green Blade Riseth”
Gwen will be looking for connections between the resurrection story told in the Christian Gospel of John and resurrection in our lives and current world. How does the green blade rise now, today?
Gwen Groff grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She graduated with a BA in English from Franklin and Marshall College and received a MDiv from Lancaster Theological Seminary. She worked with Mennonite Central Committee for 13 years on gender and peace issues. The first three of those years were spent in England, where she met her husband, Robert Buchan. She and Robert are parents of two adult children. Gwen was the pastor at Bethany Mennonite Church in Bridgewater Corners for 24 years, retiring from that ministry last year. She has been providing Pastoral Care at North Chapel while Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley is on sabbatical and will be in the pastoral care office till mid-April.
March 24, 2024
Reflection by Helen Hong
“The Road Taken (second attempt)”
Helen will be reflecting on her journey from being a corporate lawyer in DC
to directing a small nonprofit in VT.
A trained attorney who previously practiced environmental law for several years at a private firm in Washington, D.C., Helen moved to Vermont in 2005 to learn carpentry skills and began working at Twin Pines Housing Trust.
She spent 13 years at Twin Pines Housing helping low-income Vermonters access down payment grants to buy their first homes and funded three net-zero homes.
Currently she is the executive director of COVER Home Repair & The COVER Store in White River Junction. COVER completes 80+ urgent home repairs and 40+ weatherizations annually to make homes warm, safe and dry again. She is passionate about preserving under-resourced homes as a way to tackle the affordable housing crisis.
March 17, 2024
Reflection by Bill McKibben
“The hottest year in human history--so far…how we should deal with it and where we should go from here”
Please join us in welcoming author, educator and environmentalist Bill McKibben who will be giving the reflection at North Chapel’s Sunday service. He plans to stay after the service for a Q&A
Bill McKibben’s 1989 book The End of Nature is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change, and has appeared in 24 languages. He’s gone on to write 20 books, and his work appears regularly in periodicals from the New Yorker to Rolling Stone. He serves as the Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College, as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he has won the Gandhi Peace Prize as well as honorary degrees from 20 colleges and universities. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes called the alternative Nobel, in the Swedish Parliament. Foreign Policy named him to its inaugural list of the world’s 100 most important global thinkers.
“If we survive the interlocking plagues of climate change, right-wing authoritarianism, and savage inequality, future generations will say the name of the New England moral visionary and activist McKibben with the reverence we speak of Emerson, Thoreau, and Garrison.” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D_MD)
The Q&A with Bill is included at the end of this video.
Service Coordinator - Anne Macksoud
Produced by Anne Macksoud
Still Photos by Jayne Hufferdine & Rick Russel
There was no Sunday service on May 10th. Because of the weather the power was out at North Chapel.
Please see the Church Notices page to learn about our Emergency Procedures and how we contact members in unexpected circumstances.
March 3, 2024
Reflection by Jay Bragdon
“Ethical Common Sense”
Jay Bragdon will reflect briefly on Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet on “Common Sense” that launched the American Revolution and a transformative global movement toward democracy.
He believes a new ethical common sense movement is arising today, grounded in environmental ethics and a renewed interest in egalitarian governance. To understand the appeal of this movement Jay will tell how Iceland, a small country whose population is only 60% of Vermont’s population has become the world’s 3rd most effective democracy and its 8th most prosperous country out of 167 countries surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit and London’s respected Legatum Institute.
Jay Bragdon is a longtime Woodstock Resident. He is a semi-retired investment advisor, serving as senior manager/consultant to Montis Financial, a Massachusetts investment company. Jay’s goal is to bring systems thinking into the fields of economic and investment management - professions that have done great social and ecological harm via their self-destructive linear thinking practices. Jay continues to explore this subject as a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS). For more on this, see: http://cadmusjournal.org/node/926
Service Coordinator - Megan Lancaster
February 25, 2024
Reflection by Judi Greene
"SPACE and The Woodstock Community Food Shelf"
My name is Judi Greene. I’m the chair of the board of directors, and the volunteer coordinator at the Woodstock Community Food Shelf. I have been volunteering there 14 years. My husband Greg and I moved to the area in 1996, after living in Whistler, British Columbia for 6 years. After a couple of years of renting a house in Bridgewater, we found a special space we love in Pomfret, where we settled and started a family. Our 3 boys are grown now and spread all over the US. But we are so happy they still visit often, as they look for their special space in the world.
I will talk about the food shelf and the space we have made in our lives to be volunteers, the spaces that are filled with food, love, and the important role this community plays in our operations. I'll talk about some events that have shaped my feelings about the food shelf, some partnerships that we have nurtured, and a little about our guests.
Service Coordinator - Hope Yeager
February 18, 2024
Reflection by Marta Ceroni
“Intimacy: Feeling Into The Sacred Space Between Us”
This reflection is sparked by a desire and a curiosity of inquiring into the feeling of intimacy in a community context. What does it mean at times of intensity and division to venture into the sacred space that exists between oneself and the “other”, in romantic partnerships and in community?
Marta Ceroni is a dance instructor, community cultivator and the co-director of the Academy for Systems Change, an organization dedicated to supporting groups and individuals working on social transformation efforts. Marta is also a facilitator of Telling My Story, convening spaces for story-telling and the arts to build trust and connection across differences.
February 11, 2024
Reflection by Michael Zsoldos
“Standing Under the Music of Louis Armstrong”
“Louis Armstrong was one the first important soloists in jazz music. That’s how historians remember him and I was content with that story. It wasn’t until I started deeply listening and learning his solos by ear that I began to under-stand, to shift my vantage point, and to appreciate his rhythmic and melodic genius from inside his solos. What is that subject, or that skill that you’ve been putting off learning, and what happens when we make a subtle shift in our understanding?”
Michael Zsoldos is a saxophonist, composer, arranger, and lecturer at Dartmouth College. He is also a board member at North Chapel.
February 4, 2024
Reflection by Britton Mann
“Reflections on Contentment and _Contentment_”
Whole Foods Market carries 23 varieties of mustard. There's no end to the choices we can make and the actions we can take. From the more mundane choice concerning mustard to the (perhaps) more consequential of where and with whom we spend our time and energy, is it possible we can become content? And with what level of contentment are we content? In this talk, Britton takes on his own choices, exploring what impact they may have had, and where they might lead.
Britton Mann is by vocation a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, an anachronistic term that has, since he gained the degree, been replaced by “traditional east Asian medicine.” An engaging passion project is portrait photography, mostly of families. When not in clinic or behind a camera he is engaged with, and being upstaged by, his own family: Coraline, Eloise, Julianne, and Maple the dog. One of his earliest childhood memories is of looking in a mirror and being overwhelmed with curiosity about who he was and why he was there. He has an enduring wonder about the embodied experience.
Service Coordinator - David Cook
Produced by Danelle Sims
January 28, 2024
“What We Have Control Over (And What We Do Not)”
Reflection by Jan Frazier
Learning to tease apart what we can control from what we cannot brings peace, not only for ourselves but potentially for those around us. While loving with a wide-open heart may feel "risky," it is far riskier to live with a heart that is protected. Life is brief.
In 2003 all of Jan's mental and emotional suffering came to a rest. That peace endures to this day. Her most recent book is Love Incarnate: Twenty Years After Awakening. She is available for private consultations and offers monthly teachings on her website, JanFrazierTeachings at http://janfrazierteachings.com/.
January 21, 2024
Reflection by Susan Buckholz
“Checking In With Inmates: What Are We Doing About Incarceration?”
From Sue Buckholz: Issues with the attribution of these words aside . . . I subscribe to the notion that one can and perhaps should judge a society by the way that it treats its weakest members. On that scale, I fear that we fall far short. It’s so easy to “other-ize” the incarcerated, and forget that they are yet among us. What are we doing to keep them alive and well until they return to the larger world?
A long-standing member of the First Universalist Society Hartland, VT, Sue is an attorney and mediator practicing in our area. She has served in the Vermont Legislature and is a past member of the Local Council for the Hartford Dismas House, which works with formerly incarcerated people as they transition from prison to life after incarceration.
January 14, 2024
Reflection by Kevin Geiger
“Light: candle, fire, or flashlight?”
We can be the light to others, and they can be the light to us. This talk will delve into aspects of light that helps and hinders, goes out or grows, and some ways to carry the light as we tread in the dark.
Kevin Geiger likes to think, perhaps too much. He is a father, husband, son, apple tree pruner, soccer referee, town moderator, and has worked in regional planning for over 80 Vermont towns since 1990. His work specializes in land use planning and regulation, water quality, housing, climate change, and emergency management. He enjoys a good book, cooking, bad Spanish, starry skies, robust conversation, well-trained dogs, and the people of New England. He thinks we can do better than we’ve been doing.
Produced by Danelle Sims
January 7, 2024
We will celebrate New Beginnings in music and words.
Readers are: David Cook, Jenny Gelfan, Jayne Hufferdine, Maryann Postans, Frances Uptegrove, and Vassie Sinopoulos.
2023
December 31, 2023
Meditation Reflection led Mary Blanton
On this last day of 2023, please join us for a service of remembrance, music and meditation.
December 24, 2023
Sunday Morning Service
“Home By Another Way”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
This is a magical time of year. If we touch this magic, it can magnify our lives. If we touch this magic, it can lead our spirits home. And if there is something that blocks the old paths that we always used to take, we can take a new path that gets us there just the same.
Christmas Eve Service at North Chapel
This year there will be just one Christmas Eve service, at 6 pm, in the sanctuary at North Chapel.
We hope you all will join us!
December 17, 2023
“Holiness and Harvard, Medicine and Mercy”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
With The Moving Spirit Dancers: There will be four original dances throughout the service.
Scripture teaches that God is mindful of the humble, distant from the proud and helpful to his servant Israel, son of Isaac. God encouraged this particular servant to be merciful to the children of Abraham—Ishmael and Isaac, two sons born of different mothers—fro those sons found themselves in conflict. As Harvard finds itself in a strangely related conflict today, can ancient Scripture help to heal postmodern suffering? Is gracefulness an effective medicine for us all? And did a Unitarian help to make all of this possible?
“Wisdom at an Early Age”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Special Music by Eugene Friesen (cello)
December 10, 2023
'How long does it take to be wise and brave?' It's a good question. It's a different question than, 'How long does it take to grow old and gray?' I'm answering that question better and better as the years go by. How long does it take to be wise and brave? Can that take less than 50 years? Does it take more than 75? How often do we realize that we've been trying for more than 1,900 centuries? Can it be that we are newly on the verge of getting it right?
December 3, 2023
“The Mystery of Other Selves.”
Reflection by Rev. Gwen Goff
We share much in common with all other human beings, strangers as well as our beloved ones. We can begin to believe we know all there is to know about another person, someone whom we know well. But what if we were to intentionally “un-know” them, to see the other person as a mystery, capable of surprising us? How would it be if we greeted everyone by searching for the magic in them?
Gwen Groff grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She graduated with a BA in English from Franklin and Marshall College and received a MDiv from Lancaster Theological Seminary. She worked with Mennonite Central Committee for 13 years on gender and peace issues. The first three of those years were spent in England, where she met her husband, Robert Buchan. She and Robert are parents of two adult children. Gwen was the pastor at Bethany Mennonite Church in Bridgewater Corners for 24 years, retiring from that ministry last month. She has begun a training program with Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation to be a spiritual director.
November 26, 2023
“Celebrate Me Home”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Home is where we long to be. Home means different things to different people. Sometimes, home means the place where we grew up. Sometimes, home means the people we grew up with. it means other things, too—a special space, a fireplace, a secret friend, a sacred love, a child. Sometimes, home means solitude. Whatever home means, it is often the place to which we return after some time away. What does home mean for you these days?
“The Giving and Taking of Thanks in a Time of War”
November 19, 2023
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
With Michael Zsoldos on tenor saxophone, and pianist Eugene Uman performing the music of saxophonist John Coltrane.
What’s up with the floor fights in Congress these days? Did Kevin McCarthy throw an elbow in the hallway? Did Senator Mullin start rolling up his sleeves? Engaging in passionate debating is one thing, threatening to fight is another. Fortunately, nothing ever came to blows. We can be thankful for that but tensions for the boys in Washington remain high, compounding other problems in the world. What is the value of being grateful these days? Can being grateful really save us?
November 12, 2023
“Providing Trauma Care as a Form of Ministry”
Reflection by Selwyn O. Rogers, Jr., MD, MPH
From my humble beginnings in the United States Virgin Islands to trauma bays and hospitals in Boston, Nashville, Philadelphia, Galveston and Chicago, I have served as an adult trauma surgeon for three decades. In my walk with my faith, I meet people often on the worst days of their life following traumatic injuries. Through sharing and caring, I deliver trauma care. Moreover, I provide comfort, understanding and a pathway towards healing. My reflection will discuss my ministry of hope.
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Dr. Rogers earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard College magna cum laude and his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. He completed both his surgery residency and an NIH research fellowship in surgical oncology at BWH in Boston. He completed a surgical critical care fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and BWH. Additionally, Dr. Rogers has a master's degree in public health from Vanderbilt University. In January, 2017 he was named the section chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine in January 2017. He now serves as the Dr. James E. Bowman, Jr. Professor in the Biological Sciences at The University of Chicago Medicine.
Dr. Rogers is a prolific researcher, and his work seeks to improve quality and access to care for all patients. Among other topics, his published research has looked at the impact of race and ethnicity on surgical outcomes. He is committed to improving the understanding of disparities in surgical care to close the quality chasm for underserved populations and provide the most patient-centered care possible.
Beyond trauma and surgical critical care, Dr. Rogers has been an advocate for treating intentional violence as a public health problem. In partnership with the Center for Community Health and Health Equity at BWH, he developed a violence intervention and prevention program that worked to address the social factors that put patients at increased risk for trauma and mortality such as poverty, hopelessness, and lack of opportunity. The program partners with organizations in Boston to educate youth about community violence and connects victims with the resources they need to heal. Here at The University of Chicago Medicine, he helped to launch the Violence Recovery Program in conjunction with the Urban Health Initiative.
November 5, 2023
“There Will Also Be Singing”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Bertold Brecht once asked, “In the dark times, will there also be singing?” These are dark times now. Yet, the Jerusalem Youth Chorus, composed of Israeli and Palestinian singers, continue to lift their voices. How can we join them?
Diane’s poem "The Bursar" can be read here.
October 29, 2023
“Oh, the Masks of Halloween”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
This is the time of ghosts and goblins! It is the time of tricks and treats! And candy!!! This is the time of the thinning of the veil, when we see just how great and just how small we really are. Halloween masks parade what we’re ready to show to the whole, wide world. They also protect us from having to show what we’d rather keep safely within. How would it feel to strike more of a balance? Two brave women sing:
If all the world were peaceful now, now and forevermore
Peaceful at the surface and peaceful at the core
Oh, the joy within my heart would be so free to soar
And we're living on a living planet, circling a living star
If Peace went trick or treating, what masks might it wear?
October 22, 2023
“Rummaging Around Where Cruelty Hides”
Reflection by Simon Dennis
Upper Valley housing and my time getting to know the first to fall.
Simon Dennis has worked for the past 25 years in nonprofit startups, co-founding COVER Home Repair (1998-2006), founding the Center for Transformational Practice (2011-2022) and working with the Transition Town Movement (2005-2011). During this time, he also served for 9 years on the Hartford Selectboard (2012-2021). His new initiative is DIGS (Doorways Into Good Shelter), a nonprofit working to provide mobile shelter units to people experiencing homelessness. He lives in White River Junction and enjoys doing carpentry and reading poetry in his spare time. He also likes riding on trains when he gets the chance.
October 15, 2023
"What is Humanism?"
Reflections by Pat Autilio & Sue Buckholz
Humanism was created as a secular offshoot of Unitarianism early in the 20th century. There is much overlap between. Both systems promote a humane approach to living that values a rational approach to the world, strong ethics, civil rights, and the rule of law. Pat Autilio and Sue Buckholz will lead a brief conversation on the similarities and differences between the theory and practice of Unitarianism and Humanism today.
Pat is a retired engineer and manager who has lived in the Upper Valley since 2018. He spends his time working on social justice causes and pursuing his passion for making music. He has led the Upper Valley Humanists since 2019.
Sue is a member of both the Upper Valley Humanists and the First Universalist Society of Hartland. A practicing attorney with an office in Quechee, Sue's best days there are spent mediating disputes to a fair and reasonable conclusion.
October 8, 2023
"Harvest, Abundance, and Interconnection"
Reflection by Theresa Snow
Theresa will share some of her journey to founding Salvation Farms, a bit about why the organization does what it does, the philosophies that have guided her creation of the organization’s work, and why, what she’s called her life’s work, is important to our future together.
Theresa Snow founded Salvation Farms in 2004, receiving both regional and national awards including the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility’s Young Changemaker Award. She has a degree from Sterling College, having studied Ecological Thinking and Sustainable Agriculture. Theresa has co-facilitated a national working group focused on infrastructure needs to manage farm surplus with the Harvard Food Law & Policy Clinic, acted as an advisor for a World Wildlife Fund directed project looking to maximize farm resources in America, and served as the founding Board Chair of the Association of Gleaning Organizations. Theresa has a steadfast conviction for maintaining reciprocal relationships within her natural and human communities.
Sunday, October 1, 2023
“What is Memory?”
Reflection by Jane Dwinell
The Rev. Jane Dwinell’s husband, Sky Yardley, was diagnosed with “probable early stage Alzheimer’s” in 2016. Together, they contemplated the meaning of memory, what it is and how it is important. She will share her thoughts and those of her late husband that come from their recently published book Alzheimer’s Canyon: One Couple’s Reflections on Living with Dementia.
The Rev. Jane Dwinell is a retired Unitarian Universalist minister. During her career she specialized in helping our small congregations be the best they could be. She is the author of four books including Big Ideas for Small Congregations as well as Alzheimer’s Canyon. She lives in northern Vermont on Lake Champlain with her garden and her two cats.
Sunday, September 24, 2023
“Unfinished Business: Looking Beyond Apology and Forgiveness”
Reflection by Matthew J. Friedman, PhD
What needs to be said in final conversations with loved ones? These talks are often (but not always) embedded in hospice or deathbed scenarios. They are our last opportunities to break the (sometimes toxic) silence about painful emotions or hurtful events that have affected us profoundly – sometimes for many years. Should these conversations be about apology or forgiveness or, more importantly, about something else? This Reflection will be about one man’s attempt to answer this question.
Since Matt Friedman retired 18 months ago, he has spent as much time as possible with the love of his life, Gayle Marie Smith, cherished quality moments with his children and grandchildren, worked to publish, at least one children’s book about 2 golden retrievers, aspired to achieve some very modest goals as a musician, joined the volunteer part-time medical staff at the Good Neighbor Health Clinic, and tried to make a positive difference whenever possible. Before this, he had a 50-year career at Dartmouth/Geisel Medical School and in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist, clinician, researcher, teacher, leader, pioneer and all-around mensch. He established VA’s National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in 1989 which he led as Executive Director for 24 years. He established VA’s National PTSD Brain Bank in 2014 which he led as Director for 8 years. And at Dartmouth/Geisel, he, most recently, served as Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Psychiatry. He has over 360 publications, including 29 books. And the Department of Psychiatry’s annual research award, that funds the work of young investigators, is named after him.
Sunday, September 17, 2023
“Reflections On An Upwelling of Inspiration Born Out of the Climate and Biodiversity Crises”
Reflection by Sarah Reiter
Reflections on how to source inspiration and take action in spite of the very real climate and biodiversity crises. I'll be reflecting on my experience as a female veteran, oceanographer, meteorologist, lawyer, professor, and negotiator, who, time and time again, reimagines what service looks like, buoyed by the everyday ideas and actions of individuals.
Sarah Reiter is a connector: between people, communities, science and the law, the global oceanic and atmospheric commons. Her work has spanned interdisciplinary research on the ocean’s seafloor to its uppermost polar region, has played a role in the negotiation of multiple environmental agreements, and is born out of lifelong pursuit of service, first as an oceanographer and meteorologist for the U.S. military, and now as an ocean-climate champion. Having lived all over the country, Sarah found this magical nook of the world while in law school, and returned to Vermont to raise her family in 2016. Her play takes her underwater for long periods of time, where she indulges her love of marathon swimming.
Sunday, September 10, 2023
“Where the Rivers Meet—New Meaning for the Merging of the Waters”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
It means something when rivers come together. It means something when two things turn into one. In the times of great division, how can this convergence serve us best.
Sunday, September 3, 2023 - “The Choice Between Sand and Water”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
If you were thirsty, which would be the wisest choice—drinking a glass of water or one of sand? Be careful. The best answer is not obvious. It’s actually quite tricky…and tricky decisions are hard to make. So, how do we do it? What is the best wisdom here?
Sunday, August 27, 2023
Our annual joint service with other area UU ministers and Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley was held at the First Universalist Church on Route 12 in Barnard. It was not recorded.
Sunday, August 20, 2023
“Barbie, the Untold Story”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
In its opening weeks, Barbie - the new film by Warner Brothers - is fast becoming one of Hollywood’s highest grossing films. The reason, of course, is as plain as day to people of faith all across the country. It’s obvious. Barbie is a Unitarian Universalist. You can tell by the way she speaks the truth to power. Of course, speaking the truth is not the exclusive claim of any faith, even though so many wish it were. The way that Barbie speaks the truth, however, that clearly belongs to us. Come find out why.
Sunday, August 13, 2023
Stories of Imagination and Amazement
Reflections by Jenny Gelfan, Danelle Sims and Bob Williamson with guest musicians Kathleen Dolan and Mark Van Gulden.
Sunday, August 6, 2023
The Warming of the Air (A Summer Service)
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
August is a time of fullness and abundance. Summer is in full stride. Gardens are heavy with vegetables. The world seems almost like a poem when the weather is just right...which is wonderful because we've been going through so very much these days. Poetry helps us to settle. It calls our attention to summer fullness. It reminds us of the importance of living with a sense of abundance every day after love. Sometimes, it's cool in the morning. Summer days get warmer over time. Do souls get warmer, too?
Transcript
Sunday, August 6, 2023
The Warming of the Air (A Summer Service)
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
August is a time of fullness and abundance. Summer is in full stride. Gardens are heavy with vegetables. The world seems almost like a poem when the weather is just right...which is wonderful because we've been going through so very much these days. Poetry helps us to settle. It calls our attention to summer fullness. It reminds us of the importance of living with a sense of abundance every day after love. Sometimes, it's cool in the morning. Summer days get warmer over time. Do souls get warmer, too?
Transcript
Sunday, July 30, 2023
Thoughts and Music on Nature
With seven hymns and readings by Mary Blanton, Laura Foley, Joanna Long, Anne Macksoud, Seth Webb and Hope Yeager.
Sunday, July 23, 2023
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
"What's In a Name—First Thoughts Post-Brave Light"
It was a curious Juliet that once asked of her Romeo, “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet?” So, why call a rose a rose? Why call it anything at all? What is in a name? And why do we use them? Why use words like ‘rose’ and ‘war’ and ‘peace’ and ‘time’ and 'treasure’?
Transcript
Sunday, July 16, 2023
"The Road Taken"
Reflection by Helen Hong
Helen will be reflecting on her journey from being a corporate lawyer in DC to directing a small nonprofit in VT. Does she miss billing long hours? Would she have done things differently?
Helen has been COVER Home Repair’s Executive Director since 2022. Helen previously spent six years on the COVER board and also volunteered on home repair projects and in the COVER Store. Helen is passionate about repairing and improving existing homes as one way to tackle the affordable housing crisis.
Helen previously worked at Twin Pines Housing for 13 years, helping first Vermonters access down payment grants to buy their first homes. She also helped homeowners make energy-efficient improvements to their homes and funded three net-zero homes.
Sunday, July 9, 2023
"Sun Shower"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
The world is full of contradictions, paradoxes and anomalies. Life is often so unpredictable. Somehow, in this crazy world, we still must find our way to peace. How does one find peace in a world that won't behave?
Sunday, July 2, 2023
“GA-ther”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Each year, the UUs from across the country come together at General Assembly (or GA) to handle the affairs of our living faith. This year, we gathered in Pittsburgh, PA. Truly incredible things took place, including a review of the Seven Principles. Why is this important? How does this practice affect our lives? And most importantly, from a religious point of view, why do they insist on putting French Fries on the INSIDE of the sandwich?
Sunday, June 25, 2023
“Empathy for the Devil, Solidarity in the Struggle
Reflection by Jeff Sharlet
The question of how to engage our condition - deteriorating democracy, collapsing climate - is one with many answers, none yet proven "correct." As a writer studying rightwing movements in the U.S. and around the world for 20+years, I'm as interested in the what-could-be as I am in the what-is. In this brief talk I'll draw from my most recent work traveling the U.S. talking with those preparing for war to think about some of the creative means by which we can prevent it.
Jeff Sharlet is the New York Times bestselling author of The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, The Family (adapted into the eponymous Netflix documentary series) This Brilliant Darkness, Sweet Heaven When I Die, and other works of journalism, photography, and creative nonfiction. He is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a contributor to The New York Times Magazine, GQ, Esquire, and many other magazines. His writing on Russia’s anti-LGBTQ crusade earned the National Magazine Award for Reporting, and his writing on anti-LGBTQ campaigns in Uganda earned the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission's Outspoken Award, among others. He is the Frederick Sessions Beebe '35 Professor in the Art of Writing at Dartmouth College.
Sunday, June 18, 2023
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
“Serenity”
“If you want to know what a word means, don’t look it up in the dictionary. Look how it behaves in the world.” If one were to look up the word serenity, one might find the following definition:
se•ren•i•ty: noun (plural serenities) the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled: an oasis of serenity amidst the bustling city. • (His/Your, etc., Serenity) a title given to a reigning prince or similar dignitary. ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French serenite, from Latin serenitas, from serenus ‘clear, fair’ (see serene).
How the word behaves in life is another matter, particularly in the hustling and bustling context of city life. Woodstock is not a city but it hustles and bustles with the best of them. We hustle and bustle bucolically. Does this make things harder for us?
Sunday, June 11, 2023
“Being with Others: Together Inside the Belly of the Beast - in Courage - in Strength - in Resistance to Reclaim Our Humanity”
Reflection by Pati Hernandez
Service Coordinator - Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
A reflection on how pain and joy exist at the same time and how important and powerful it is to recognize and accept their presence. A practice of humility and courage.
Pati Hernández is a mother, a soon to be grandmother!, activist, dancer, and puppeteer. Originally from Chile, she immigrated to North America in 1983. Her professional focus is the exploration of political and social issues through the arts. She is the creator and facilitator of Telling My Story, a program she developed in correctional facilities, substance abuse rehab centers, and collaborating with marginalized community members in NYC, Vermont and beyond since 1994. One venue of the program is a class and extra-curricular program she developed at Dartmouth College from 2005 to 2020. Currently the program is focused in collaborations with community members from the Upper Valley and beyond focusing on the themes of race, class, and gender. Pati is also preparing facilitators to extend the outreach and presence of the program.
If you're interested in supporting "Telling My Story," organization here's the link: https://tellingmystory.org/support/
Transcript
Sunday, June 4, 2023
Forgiving Helens
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
In May of 1980, Mt. St. Helens erupted with spectacular force. It darkened the sky and littered the ground and laid waste to everything in its path. Fifty-seven people died in that explosion. If that great mountain were our dear friend and if our dear friend had erupted in anger, how many people would have been better off had we been able to ease her burden and reduce her suffering? If she were our friend, how willing would we have been to accept the damage that she had done? From the distance of 43 years, how willing are we to forgive? Forgiveness is the hardest thing but it is so important. It is, perhaps, the greatest key to living well. Why don't we do it?
Sunday, May 28, 2023
Personal Reflections on Memorial Day
Reflections by Gayle Smith, Neil Marinello and Poetry by Robert Burchess
A time to celebrate lives, mourn the losses and sometimes do both.
Gayle Smith began her practice as an RN in 1967. In 1970 she enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps and was stationed in a small surgical hospital in Vietnam otherwise known as a MASH unit. She lived to tell the tale and will describe her journey.
Neil Marinello has been attending North Chapel Services for over 30 years. He is a retired doctoral level psychologist who has practiced as a Life Coach for the last 12 years. His entire life was controlled by the Vietnam War from 1962-1975.
Bob Burchess finished college in the 60's, in the midst of the Vietnam era, moved around from California to Oregon, Maine and New York, doing theater, training, publishing, counseling, till 9/11, when he left the city to move to Vermont, where he continues writing and drawing, still haunted by war, whether Vietnam, Ukraine or all those before.
May 21, 2023 - “Poetry and Lyrics”
Throughout this special congregation-led service, a number of people will read poems and song lyrics. They will be read by Frances Uptegrove, Deb Rice, Diane Mellinger, Anne Macksoud, Joanna Long, Mary Blanton and Jenny Gelfan.
Sunday, May 14, 2023
“All I Ask of You (Oh, God)—A Mother's Day Reflection”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
We are being asked to grow. We are being asked to blossom…and blossom we will—by choice, by luck, by grace—or kicking and screaming—we will all bloom. At least, this is the hope of those who bring new life into being. There are many ways of bringing new life into the world. What are the hopes and what are the sorrows that come with this beautiful and complicated holiday?
Sunday, May 7, 2023
“A Lesson in Survival”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Service Coordinator - Richard Waddell
1978. Pete Townshend tried to hold the lightning and couldn’t. He was badly burned. Devastated and angry, he went to a bar and tried his best to drink away his sorrows. He didn’t make it home that night. He leaned against an apartment building and he passed in the doorway. In the morning, he was recognized by a police officer who took pity and led him home. Reflecting on this experience, he had questions that only God could answer. Townshend found a way through his sea of sorrow…and so can we. He learned a lesson in survival…and so can we. If you want to know how, come join us.
Sunday, April 30, 2023
“Everybody knows Sacagawea”
Reflection by Thomas Powers
On Lewis and Clark’s long walk to the Pacific and back the members of the Corps of Discovery all called Sacagawea “the Indian woman.” Clark thought she was nineteen; she carried a newborn son, she was the only woman, and the only Indian, and the only member of the expedition who spoke Shoshone. When the long walk was over the Indian woman dropped from sight but today Sacagawea and Pocahontas are the only Native American women most Americans have ever heard of, and there are more statues of Sacagawea in public spaces then of any other American woman. But who was Sacagawea, and who gets to say who she was?
Short bio: I have been a full-time writer since 1970, have been a frequent contributor to the New York and London Reviews of Books, and have published nine books, mostly about things that were hard to find out — examples are Heisenberg’s War: The Secret History of the German Bomb (1993) and The Killing of Crazy Horse (2010). It was from Mike Cowdrey, a friend I made writing about the Sioux wars, that I first learned that relatives of Sacagawea from the Upper Missouri were gathering material for a book challenging the accepted version of who Sacagawea was. They say she was Hidatsa, not Shoshone; and they say she didn’t die in 1812, but was killed in 1869. Eighteen months ago they published a book filled with evidence for their claims, but so far the world hasn't noticed.
Sunday, April 23, 2023
"A Crucible That Can Hold Us"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
What happens if we don't agree? How do we find peace without consensus? How do we fight? How do we forgive? Especially now.
Landesman and Wolf write,
“Spring is here, there's no mistaking
Robins building nests from coast to coast
My heart tries to sing so they won't hear it breaking
Spring can really hang you up the most”
What power holds us together in difficult times?
Sunday, April 16, 2023
"That’s How I Got to Memphis"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
What is the calling of the heart that means the most to us? Not the callings from the edges - not the bright-faith calling that occurs at the beginning of things and not the wisdom calling that sometimes comes to us at the end of things. What is the calling of the heart that grips us in the middle of things, informing both the beginning and the end? Why is it wisest to explore that calling in Memphis? And why will North Chapel be the better for it if we do?
Sunday, April 9, 2023
"Return of the Easter Jedi Bunny"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
“What does Easter mean in outer space?” asked a nine-year-old friend. I didn’t know how to answer that question. Most of us don’t. The few who do know how to answer the question only know because they allow themselves to dream. When we allow ourselves to dream, we soon see that the answer is obvious. If the answer isn’t obvious, ask the nine-year-old kid that still lives inside of you…and if you’re not yet nine years old, pretend that you are. Then, the Easter Jedi Bunny may speak to you!
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
"Coming Back To Life (faith after tragedy in Nashville)"
How courageous does springtime need to be? How loving? How fierce? How gentle? How forgiving? How comfortable with joy? How deeply prepared for sorrow? Life presents infinitely many decisions in life. Day after day, we find ourselves at the crossroads? How can we encourage one another to make the best decision, especially when we have no idea what they are?
Sunday, March 26, 2023
“Reflecting on the Personal Experience of War in Ukraine”
Reflection by Ukrainians: Hanna Leliv and Lada Kolomiyets
Lada Kolomiyets, a Habilitated Doctor of Philology in Translation Studies and Full Professor of the Department of Translation Theory and Practice at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Currently, she is a Harris Visiting Professor at Dartmouth College.
Hanna Leliv, a literary translator from Lviv, Ukraine. A former Fulbright fellow at the University of Iowa's Literary Translation Workshop, she is now a Leslie Center Faculty Fellow at Dartmouth College.
Transcripts
Here is a link to a poem by Artur Dron translated from Ukrainian by Hanna Leliv. She read this during the Sunday service. It was published in Circumference magazine’s online version. https://circumferencemag.com/where-there-are-prophecies
The work of Lada Kolomiyets can be found here: Translations from Ukrainian of the poems written after February 24, 2022 by Lada Kolomiyets
Sunday, March 19, 2023
"The Eyes Have It"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
They used to say that Elizabeth Taylor had the world’s most beautiful eyes. They say the same thing now about Adriana Lima from Brazil. Harrison Ford and Alicia Keyes, Scarlett Johanson and Bruno Mars are among the many who are said to have “great eyes.” What does that mean on a spiritual level…or is it more fun just to be superficial about it?
Sunday, March 12, 2023
"Breonna Taylor, the Book of Job and the Too-long Journey of Justice”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
On March 13th of 2020, two months before the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor was killed by the police in her own home in Louisville, KY. Three years after her passing, Breonna Taylor’s mother finally got some good news. The Justice Department of the United States stated the obvious—that the Louisville Metro Police Department has used excessive force, has used invalid warrants, has used an array of unlawful practices and has violated the rights of those they have sworn to protect. Three year ago, North Chapel gathered flowers in celebration of Breonna Taylor. Now, we can officially begin to put those flowers to rest but the journey has been too long. We ask, "How do we finally find our deepest peace in all of this?" for it is still possible to strengthen our greatest joy.
Sunday, March 5, 2023
"Flowers for the Wrestling of Angels”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
“I will not let you go unless you bless me!” Even though the families were fighting, even though the feud had gone on for years, the warring sons would not let one another go. They wanted to wrestle lovingly enough to remain together far beyond the final bell. In this sense, they gave each other flowers before the fight. What kind of flowers might these fierce and fragile flowers be?
Sunday, February 26, 2023
"Shower the Things You Love in the Gorgeous Petals of a Rose”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Gather beauty all around you—for strength, for love, for courage, for safety. Everything is possible within such gentleness.
Sunday, February 19, 2023
"Prisoners of Hope - Last Thoughts on the First Day of a Lifetime in Jail"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
A wise teacher once said that freedom is nothing more than being able to choose your own cage. In this world that is so filled with tragedy and so filled with joy, by what things will we allow ourselves to be imprisoned? Is there such a thing as a cage that sets us free?
Sunday, February 12, 2023
“Love Stories”
Reflections by Church Members
Kate Johnson, Joanna Long and Sherry Belisle will share love stories.
Sunday, February 5, 2023
How Dare You?—Proverbs for When the World Begins to Lose Its Marbles
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Greta Thunberg said it best. She was so compelling. Strangely, she was only sixteen at the time. Bravely, she stood before world leaders and environmental activists who had gathered in the United Nations Building in Manhattan and she said, “This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet, you come to us young people for hope!!! How dare you!?” She was riveting. She was enraged. And she was absolutely right. But where do we go from here? How can we strengthen our sense of indignation in a world gone half insane?
Sunday, January 29, 2023
"Maps"
Reflection by Gwen Groff
Gwen grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She graduated with a BA in English from Franklin and Marshall college and received a MDiv from Lancaster Theological Seminary. She worked with Mennonite Central Committee for 13 years on gender and peace issues. The first three of those years were spent in England, where she met her husband, Robert. She has been the minister at Bethany Mennonite Church in Bridgewater Corners for 23 years. She and Robert are parents of two adult children.
Sunday, January 22, 2023
"Renewing Fellowship"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
What does it mean to join, to belong to something? How does it feel to start a friendship that will last a lifetime? Becoming part of a community is always challenging. It’s always surprising. Sometimes, it’s harder than we think it’s going to be. Other times, it is delightfully easy. What makes it so? What is the value of fellowship at North Chapel?
Sunday, January 15, 2023
"Make Ready For the Journey Ahead"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
If you were a traveler journeying through time, what gifts would you notice in each passing month, in each passing week, in every passing day, in every passing moment. How do we get ready for the coming ups and downs?
Sunday, January 8, 2023 “On This New and Ancient Day”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
In the beginnings of things, we often look back at the past. New resolutions help us to turn the corner on old ways. We may try to put the past behind us and set our sights on moving on in the world. We may let go of the “there-and-then” of our lives and we may seek the “here-and-now.” What if we did both at once? What would that require of us—open-mindedness about the future or sharp-sightedness about the past? How can we honor both of these at once?
Sunday, January 1, 2023
Join us for a New Year’s Day special service. We will gather for a simple, quiet time of meditation, music, and poetry.
This service will not be recorded.
“Setting an Intention for the New Year.” The energy around New Year’s Day prompts many of us to make New Year resolutions, to set up goals for the future that are, quite often, abandoned a few weeks later. Can we get ourselves out of that repetitive circle? In this meditation service, we will focus on setting an intention for the new year. Setting an intention involves choosing a direction, rather than a destination. Unlike a goal, it is rooted in the present moment of your life: What is the gentlest, kindest gift you can give yourself this year?
2022
December 24, 2022: Christmas Eve - Services were not recorded.
December 25, 2022: Christmas Day - No Sunday service.
December 18, 2022: "Approaching Deepest Darkness”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
December 21 will be the longest night of the year. It is the day of the year that is most deeply swallowed by the night. Darkness can be luminous. Darkness can be sacred. Deepest darkness is pierced by a single candle’s light. Joy and peace and love and life are all within the candle’s light. This candle light is a symbol of the flame that burns within, helping us to find our way through deepest darkness.
Transcript of the Reflection
December 11, 2022: "“Receive”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
What does it mean to receive? In our hymnal, it is written,
"From you, I receive
To you, I give
Together, we share
And by this, we live"
But what does that mean to you to truly receive, to take something in, to accept something into your life that makes life better. In this season of giving, what does it mean to receive?
December 4, 2022: "Joy at the Top and Joy at the Very Bottom of the Hill"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
This is the season of joy but what is joy precisely. Why does it feel illusive or rare or often beyond my reach? Searching the TED Talks website, joy was closely linked with education and the slow process of learning. Is it possible to slow down in order to become happier in life?
November 27, 2022: "Care"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Deep fellowship happens when we allow ourselves to be true to who we are. When we are successful and when we are strong, it’s easy to be in community. When we fall and when we are broken, it’s harder to be open, harder to be honest about the challenges we face. How do we find the strength to share the truths about our lives? How do we find the courage to be that real? (…and must we?)
November 20, 2022: "Sacred Conversations (cont.)"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Last Sunday morning, we asked "What conversations can change the world?" This Sunday morning, we enter in. We engage with one another about what matters. We might not change the world but we might change ourselves...or stay the same for different reasons. Whatever way we go, can we go there lightly? Can we shed the heavy packs we carry and put the spring back in our step? ...even as the winter is fast approaching?
November 13, 2022: "Sacred Conversations"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
What conversations can change the world? Are we capable of having them? If we are, what are the tools we need to care for ourselves in the process? Archimedes once said, "Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough, and I will move the world." What levers are strong enough to move the world (and to move our souls)? And when we use them, how do we ground ourselves?
November 6th, 2022: "Being Non-Binary in a Binary World"
Reflection by Scottie Taylor
If you ever feel a bit confused by terms, labels and pronouns people use presently, this will give you a bit of an education about gender fluid people, and in this case, what life is like for someone living in Vermont.
Please invite anyone you think might be interested in this subject to join us - it will be an opportunity for growth and understanding for all.
Mary Jeanne Taylor, Scottie’s mother, will be our Service Coordinator for this unique Sunday.
Scottie Taylor(they/them) is an advocate for many, including children with special needs, for whom they serve as a Physical Therapist with the Vermont Early Mobility Project. Here, powered mobility options are considered for young children whose gross motor development is impacted and ride-on children’s toys are modified to be easily accessible and drivable for children with severe movement impairments. Scottie also landed a role in advocacy for the LGBTQI+ community as President of a Burlington softball league; sports is a very binary, gendered experience and the league Scottie leads is gender inclusive. Scottie makes their home in South Burlington with their partner, Taran, and animals Denver(woof) and Milo(meow).
October 30, 2022: "The Beautiful Masks of Fellowship"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Happy Halloween! Once again, the holiday of ghosts and goblins is upon us. During this season, we wear many masks. Some masks conceal who we are. Other masks reveal who we are. It all depends on how we choose to wear it.
October 23, 2022: "Have Faith (aka: Don’t Bite the Mailman)"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Unitarian Universalism is dangerous. It isn’t cute. Sometimes, it tries to be but it isn’t. Sometimes, we try to shrink deep meaning into catch phrases and colloquialisms. UUism questions everything. It turns common understanding on its head. Instead of a holy trinity, we imagine unity. Instead of “original sin,” we imagine an “original blessing.” When we take ourselves seriously, we understand the meaning of our distinctions. When we don’t take ourselves seriously, we’re just fussy. We think we’re being faithful but we’re not. We’re only being cute. We think we’re being brave but we’re only being suspicious. We fail to trust. So, we bite the mailman. How do we learn to trust more than we do now? How do we deepen in our faith?
October 16, 2022: "Laughter, Courage and Joy—Reflections on a Forty Years of Friendship in Unitarian Universalism"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
There was something about our experience as UUs that kept us coming back for more. Eric and I first met in New Jersey when we were teenagers. We met in LRY, an acronym that stood for Liberal Religious Youth. Something about that experience has led us both on lifelong journeys into the faith. Rev. Eric Kaminetzky now serves the Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Congregation just outside of Seattle, Washington. He will be visiting us from the West Coast.
Please join us for cider or lemonade on the front porch after the service.
October 9, 2022: "The Shift That Has To Happen Sometimes"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Autumn is a time of change. This is so obviously true. So many of the trees are telling us—all but the evergreens. We are changing, too. We are becoming more generous (not because we are newly kind and not because we are supposed to be more generous, but because our lives are better when we give as powerfully as we can). What happens when we give more time, more money, more soul to things that make life grand? Who do we become when we are vulnerable and when we give from the best of our heart?
October 2, 2022: "Seeking Balance with Earth and Sky"
Reflection by Michael Caduto
Through story, song and reflection Michael Caduto will lead an immersive experience to explore indigenous principles, beliefs and life ways that are at the root of living in a balanced relationship with our environment, and each other.
Michael is best known for his children’s books, including the Keepers of the Earth series. His work focuses on Earth stewardship, cultural diversity, science and the arts. Through his live programs, Michael has reached over 500,000 people in North America, Europe and the Middle East. He has worked closely with many indigenous peoples, including the Abenaki of Vermont and New Hampshire.
There is no video of this reflection.
September 25, 2022: "Preaching to the Corn: Perfection or Possibility (choose one)"
Reflection by Rev. Jordinn Nelson Long
Rev. Jordinn Nelson Long is the lead minister at Unitarian Memorial Church, a UU neo-Gothic cathedral in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. She is originally from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and she and her family divide their time between Massachusetts and Rutland County, Vermont.
September 18, 2022: "When Justice has been served with help, people can change."
Reflection by Kitty O'Hara
Kitty O’Hara has been involved with the Hartford Community Justice Center in White River Junction since 2012. The Center’s mission is to reduce crime and restore community. She began as a volunteer teaching art to people transitioning from prison into our local communities. She is now a board member and works as part of a team on COSA (Circle of Support and Accountability), a program designed to work with people who are at high risk of reoffending. She is also working with a NYU pilot program Circles of Peace (working with offenders and victims of domestic violence). Kitty is also a well-known Vermont artist, whose work has been shown in local galleries.
September 11, 2022: "Clouds of Our Unknowing"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
At the height of our anxiety, faith steps in and crushes doubt. “Not when a third of Pakistan is under water!” “Not when there is risk of nuclear disaster in Ukraine!!” “Not when children are hungry and at risk in Somalia!!!” Surely, we are anxious about these things. This much is certain. Yet and still, we strike a balance against impossible odds…by walking into the clouds of our unknowing.
September 4, 2022: "The Stories of Waters"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
River, ocean, lake, stream, brook, pond, creek… What bodies of water capture our spirit and call you by your true name? How do we answer their calling? By quietly sitting at the water’s edge or by diving in with laughter? Do we sail or row or paddle our way across their pitching surfaces? Do we paint these waters or take pictures of them? Do we write them poetry or tell their tales? Do we gather in our hands what you can hold for a few moments? Do we drink them in? Do we allow these waters to wash us clean? Can we bring our stories of waters on Sunday and share them in a common place?
Sunday, August 28, 2022
The 5 Upper Valley UU Congregations (Hartland, Woodstock, Strafford, Barnard, and Norwich) gathered together in Barnard, in yearly tradition on the last Sunday before Labor Day.
Sunday, August 21, 2022: “An American Peace of Mind”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
With so much political confusion in the world today, it can be hard to find our balance. It is so easy to find ourselves stranded high on the mountains of anxiety. How do we come back down to earth? How do we discover an American peace of mind?
Sunday, August 14, 2022: “What We Learn from Others”
Reflection by Delia Clark
Delia Clark's work focuses on building sustainable communities through serving as a trainer and facilitator in place-based education, civic engagement, and community dialogue. She works throughout the United States and internationally, for organizations that include US National Park Service, US Forest Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance, QLF/Atlantic Center for the Environment, Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership, Shelburne Farms, and IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature). Delia is the co-author of Questing: A Guide to Creating Community Treasure Hunts published by University Press of New England, and several facilitation, place-based education, and participatory planning manuals, which have collectively been translated into seven languages. Delia lives in Taftsville with her husband Tim Traver. They raised their three children in the NUCS community.
Sunday, August 7, 2022: “Grace - Part Free”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Do you believe in fate or free will? Is life fixed by heavenly stars or do we have a hand in things? Can we make a difference in the world? Do we have the power? Do we have the grit? Do we have the grace that we might need? If yes, what must we surrender along the way?
Sunday, July 31, 2022: "Meditations on a Lawn: One more small way to combat climate change."
Reflection by Tim Traver
Tim and his wife Delia live in Taftsville, Vermont with their son Toben and his wife Joanna. They also have a gray cat named Tom. Tim has written three books and numerous articles over the years within the general theme of stewardship of place. He has a love/hate relationship with his lawn.
Sunday, July 24, 2022: "Does My Cup Really Runneth Over??”
Reflection by James Marmar
James Marmar moved to Vermont in 1969 after graduating Albany College of Pharmacy. His life skills of listening, empathy, compassion, communicating and loving grew exponentially as his Vermont wanderings took him to Burlington, St. Albans, East Fairfield, Cambridge, Florence and Quechee. He did have an 8-year interlude In Whitefish, Montana ("Scenery so beautiful you could eat it."), however his heart "beats for Vermont."
He wrote: "As you can imagine I married, children presented themselves, animals galore (horses; sheep; goats; felines; dogs; rabbits; etc.) and life followed with the usual roller coaster timeline. My professional chops pulled me into pharmacy governance, which led me to become President of the Vermont Pharmacists Association and ultimately, I became the Executive Director of VPA for 20 years.
"Concurrently I became Pharmacy Manager of Woodstock Pharmacy in 2001 through its closing in October 2020. I have been a member of Shir Shalom Synagogue. My interactions with Dismas started in 2015 after joining the local Hartford Board and continues through today."
(Read more about Dismas of Vermont here: https://www.dismasofvt.org/about-us/ )
Jim has offered time for questions and discussion after the service.
Transcript of the Reflection
Sunday, July 17, 2022: "Grace - Part One”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Christianity defines "grace "as "the spontaneous, unmerited gift of divine favor in the salvation of sinners." Grace is "the divine influence operating in individuals", the influence that leads us to sanctity but what should we do when we get there? What should we do with the gifts that we don't deserve but receive anyway? How is grace meaningful in these times?
Sunday, July 17, 2022: "Grace - Part One”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Christianity defines "grace "as "the spontaneous, unmerited gift of divine favor in the salvation of sinners." Grace is "the divine influence operating in individuals", the influence that leads us to sanctity but what should we do when we get there? What should we do with the gifts that we don't deserve but receive anyway? How is grace meaningful in these times?
Sunday, July 10, 2022: "Mundane or Miraculous?—The Age-old Argument Between Average and Impressive Tomatoes"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Gardens are getting ready for the summer yield. Its flowers are bearing fruit, reminding us that healthy growth takes time. A garden is the proper environment within which healthy growth is possible—average and impressive growth. The average and the impressive both require particular conditions to grow. Average and impressive tomatoes require these conditions. Tomatoes are important parts of the “interconnected web” that holds us all. The question is this: Is this interconnection mundane or miraculous?
Sunday, July 3, 2022: "Patience Has Hopeful Eyes…and Vice Versa"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Hope has patient eyes. Patience is so important in times as hard as these...because it takes a while, sometimes, for the beautiful things within us to fully unfold. Hatefulness comes with pressure. It forces urgency upon us. The same is true of fearfulness. On the other hand, patience puts us at ease. It doesn't come with pressure. It forces no urgency upon us. Patience has such hopeful eyes...and vice versa. Hope has such patient eyes. If you don’t believe me, just ask her…on a good day.
Sunday, June 26, 2022: "The Common Sense of Sadness"
Reflection by Melinda Haas
Melinda Haas first went to music school at age three, where she was encouraged to learn music through movement and through improvisation. Ultimately, she studied classical piano as well. The life-long ability to improvise led her to her first career as modern dance accompanist, working with the Graham and Limón companies among others. After many years in the dance world she became a Clinical Social Worker on the way to becoming a Jungian Analyst. She has been in private practice in New York and Vermont for many years. She teaches at the Jungian Psychoanalytic Association in New York, and the C.G. Jung Institute of New England. She has presented papers on music and Jung at the International Association of Analytical Psychology (IAAP) Congresses in Barcelona, Montréal and most recently in Vienna. Her essays are published in Music and Psyche: Contemporary Psychoanalytic Explorations, (eds. Ashton and Bloch). She is past President and still actively involved in the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism, ARAS.
Melinda will reflect upon the intertwining of beauty, fullness and sadness.
Sunday, June 19, 2022: “Fifty Years of WISE ”
Reflection by Peggy O’Neil
For the past thirty-five years, Peggy has chosen to work in nonprofits whose missions are intentionally kind, inclusive and focused on social change. Her non-profit work began as a crisis line volunteer with the Samaritans in Boston, a 24-hour suicide prevention and crisis center and at 28 she became its Executive Director. In 1995 she moved to the Washington, DC area where she worked at the National Mental Health Association (now Mental Health America) as its Senior Director for Prevention and Children’s Mental Health, working to create and change systems to better support children and families impacted by mental health issues.
In 2001 she moved to Cornish, NH and in 2003 became the Executive Director of WISE, an organization dedicated to leading the Upper Valley to end gender-based violence through survivor-centered advocacy, prevention, education and mobilization for social change. WISE is a member of the NH Coalition and the VT Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and supports nearly 1500 survivors annually and serves 23 communities in Grafton County, NH and Windsor and Orange Counties, VT. She has served in leadership positions on both the NH Coalition Board and VT Network.
Sunday, June 12, 2022: "The Ghost Pepper Papers”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
How do we handle conflict when things get spicy hot! What commitments do we need to make with one another and what commitments do we need to make with ourselves in order to achieve true and peaceful community.
Sunday, June 5, 2022: "When I Breathe In," said the forests of Vermont
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley and Lynn Peterson
When it seems daunting out there, look for the teachers. When it seems like life is just too heavy, look for the teachers. The teachers are all around us, quietly making it possible for us to take a good, deep breath. They are the trees. What have they teach us in this time of climate change? And what can we do to lend a helping hand?
Sunday, May 29, 2022: “The Processes and Purposes of Goodness”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
There is a way we do things around here. We’ve agreed on the processes of healthy democracy. We pay taxes, we vote and we pledge faithful allegiance to the country that we strive to achieve. Together, we build the land of the free and the home of the brave with our own hand, our own minds, our own hearts and souls and spirits. On this Memorial Day weekend (and in the shadow of terrible losses), it is good to reflect on the purposes of democracy and how purposes are meant to make us truly free.
Sunday, May 22, 2022: “Shall We Save or Savor the World?”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Well, the cheeky answer to this question is YES. It's a cheeky answer because the choice is an impossible one. We must not be made to choose between the things that we truly need. Life, love, mystery, passion, beauty and vitality... In these in between days of seasonal transition, what is the steady resting pulse that is a constant in our lives?
Sunday, May 15, 2022: “Oh, Mercy”
Reflection by Rev. Paul Sawyer
Reflections on mercy, humanity, and hope in our society and in these times.
The Rev. Paul S. Sawyer has served as the settled minister of the First Universalist Society of Hartland, Vermont since 2006. Prior to his ordination, Paul worked in education as a fifth-grade teacher, a behavioral counselor for children with emotional-behavioral disabilities, and as a wilderness educator, leading canoe trips, ropes courses, and teambuilding activities as program director at the Hulbert Outdoor Center in Fairlee, VT. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College, the Graduate School of Education at Boston University, and Harvard Divinity School. He serves on the leadership team of the Northern New England chapter of the UU Ministers Association and as a panel member for the Fund for Unitarian Universalism of the UU Funding Program. He lives in Hartland, VT with his spouse Katy and their two children, Emma and Aidan.
Sunday, May 8, 2022: Some People Just Can't Tell a Joke
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Laughter can heal us. Good humor can set us free. There are some jokes, however, that can shut us down and imprison us...and that's no joke. Why is this distinction so important in our spiritual lives? Is there such a thing as holy laughter?
Sunday, May 1, 2022:
Reflection by Change the World Kids with Introduction by Anne Macksoud
Change the World Kids is a youth run non-profit organization established in 2003 by Phyllis Arata-Meyers and her twin daughters, The group focuses on Environmental Stewardship, Climate Justice, Food Justice and Community Work and does this by working on a number of humanitarian and environmental projects both locally and globally. The group serves as a safe place for kids in grades 9-12 to give back to the community, build relationships and develop skills, all while working towards climate solutions.
You will hear from five dedicated members of the group, Emma Allegretti, Sam Leggett, Oliver Szott, Adeline Wilson, and Forrest Yeager on what projects we are working on currently and how you can support our work.
Sunday, April 24, 2022: "Forever This Earth Beneath My Feet"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
There are ways to be free and there are ways to be imprisoned. What are the costs of freedom in this time of war? What is the value, the strange wisdom of imprisonment?
Sunday, April 17, 2022: “Seven Holy Words - An Easter Reflection“
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Awakening within us, renewed in us is the love that overcomes brokenness. It overcomes loss and suffering. This is the season for it, with all of the incredible challenges that we are facing. In April, every signpost in nature is casting off the dead leaves and slowly coming back to life. What is falling away from us and what is being reborn?
Sunday, April 10, 2022: “The Measure of Our Days”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Sunset is such a special time. The last light of the sun falls beyond the far horizon and another day is done for all of us. Who can we be...? Who must we be in order to know our beauty and our significance before the coming darkness? With what 'yardstick' can we then measure the meaning of our days?
Sunday, April 3, 2022: “Letting Our Life’s Work Reinvent the World”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Nancy Jay Crumbine
As we stand with Ukraine — reading her poetry, honoring her courage — we must call up the spirits of those visionaries who have resisted terror in the past. While, in its many guises, repression creeps into everything, so also creeps into everything fascism’s brave opponents. And we are everywhere…
Nancy Jay Crumbine is a Unitarian Universalist minister, a professor at Dartmouth College, a writer, actor, and public speaker. She has lectured widely under the auspices of the Vermont and New Hampshire Humanities Councils, the National Council for the Aging, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and various educational conferences, both in the US and the UK. She is the author of Humility, Anger, and Grace: Meditations Towards a Life that Matters and The Unitarian Paradox. Her articles and poems appear in a number of anthologies and magazines, most recently in The Inquirer, the UK’s equivalent of the UU World. She speaks regularly at First Universalist Parish of Chester, VT, other UU churches, and for the First Wednesdays Lecture Series of the Vermont Humanities Council. She has spoken many times at North Chapel and is delighted to return this Sunday with her partner of 27 years, Laurie Morrison, who was attending North Chapel when they met.
Sunday, March 27, 2022: “How can we respond to these troubled times?”
Reflections by Richard Schramm, Polly Forcier, and Anne Macksoud
"In the dark times, will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.
About the dark times."
~ Bertolt Brecht
Richard Schramm, Polly Forcier, and Anne Macksoud, three very active members of our church community, will share some thoughts about how they are responding to the many challenges that we are all experiencing.
March 20 2022: "A Way of Saying Yes"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
There is a bridge made out of flowers in a place called Shelburne Falls and if you cross it, you become a butterfly. You shed whatever chrysalis you carry and you unfold new and boldly colored wings, having never seen them before. All is change in this good season. Are you ready for change? …because change happens, whether we want it to happen or not. The real question is not: “Are you ready for change?” The real question is: “Can you accept it?” Acceptance is a way of saying, “yes.”
March 13, 2022: "Hero Always Wears the Sign of Hope"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Do you believe in your heart that you and I can travel faster than speeding bullets? Are we more powerful than locomotive trains? Can we leap tall buildings in a single bound? Obviously, the answer to all of these questions is yes. We’ve already done it. All we have to do now is share our secrets with one another. How did we just do the impossible?
March 6, 2022: "We Begin Again In Love"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
When a law has been broken (or a promise or a sacred covenant), how do we heal? When a bond has been broken (or a bone or a heart), how do we recover? How do we learn to carry on?
February 27, 2022: "Who Is 'She'? (Messengers of War and Peace)"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
“The whole world is divided for me into two parts: one is she, and there is all happiness, hope, light; the other is where she is not, and there everything is dejection and darkness… ~ ”War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
Jane Goodall has reason for hope but what does hope truly mean in times of great crisis. Violence has broken out in Kiev and in several other cities...but what will that mean for us this Sunday morning? In The Book of Hope, Goodall writes,
Ever since I began traveling around the world in 1986 to raise awareness about the harm we humans have created, socially and environmentally, I have met so many people who have told me that they have lost hope for the future…. I do not believe it is too late to do something to put things right.
She is a messenger of peace. She is a messenger of happiness, hope and light. Do such messages become more or less meaningful in a time of war? What do you think? What do you truly believe?
February 20, 2022: "A Foundation of Courage"
Reflection by Rev. Wendy Bartel and Rev. Lynn Gardner
Maya Angelou said that "without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue without consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest." How might we strengthen our courage to serve as a foundation to live all of our values with greater consistency?
Rev. Wendy Bartel & Rev. Lynn Gardner serve as Co-Ministers at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady, in New York. Rev. Lynn (pronouns are she/they) has worked with young children and loves stories, cooking, and yoga. Rev. Wendy (please use name, not pronouns) is a music therapist, and spoken word artist. Together, they enjoy gardening, hiking, and adventures with their small, shy dog. They work for collective liberation and a just and sustainable world.
February 13, 2022 :“On Truths and Love”
Reflection by Marta Ceroni
“I would not have you descend into your own dream. I would have you be a conscious citizen of this terrible and beautiful world.” – Ta-Nehisi Coates. A reflection on truth-telling.
Marta Ceroni is the co-director of the Academy for Systems Change, a nonprofit that supports organization- and community leaders in their capacity to shape more equitable and sustainable futures through peer learning and a focus on awareness-based systems change.
With a doctorate in forest ecology, over the years Marta has become interested in economies that prioritize communities and nature. Before her current position, Marta worked as a Research Professor for 10 years at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont. She is also a writer, a dancer, and a community cultivator. Her ancestral home is in the Po River Valley, in northern Italy, her current home is on the New Hampshire side of the Connecticut (Kwnitekw) River, USA.
February 6, 2022: “Freeing the Mind (Justice, Equity and Compassion)”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
William James once said, “A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” Sometimes, it is very hard to truly think for ourselves. What holds us back? How can we become more creative in challenging times? Can we think more freely? …and live more freely? …and love more freely? What holds us back from being our most creative selves?
January 30, 2022: “Thich Nhat Hanh and the Native Tongue of Loving Speech”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Before we are born, we learn the language that we speak with our first breaths. We cry out in affirmation of life itself. In a manner of speaking, this cry is our purest prayer. When we are wise (and if we are lucky), this cry deepens into laughter and we retain the native tongue of loving speech throughout our lives—be they lives of joy or be they lives of sorrow…or be they lives that intertwine the two. From Thich Nhat Hanh, the great and peaceful ‘teacher’ from Vietnam, we learn precisely this and so much more.
January 23, 2022: “Epiphanies”
Reflection by Rev. Gwen Groff
Gwen grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She graduated with a BA in English from Franklin and Marshall college and received a MDiv from Lancaster Theological Seminary. She worked with Mennonite Central Committee for 13 years on gender and peace issues. The first three of those years were spent in England, where she met her husband, Robert. She has been the minister at Bethany Mennonite Church in Bridgewater Corners for 22 years. She and Robert are parents of two adult children.
January 16, 2022: "Tutu, King, and the Roaring Engine of Delight"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
“The love the world has shown has warmed the cockles of our hearts.”
—Mpho Tutu, quoting her beloved father
Desmond Tutu stood on the broad shoulders of Martin Luther King. King was inspired by the peace and disobedience of Henry David Thoreau. All three were committed to justice. All three were driven by the engine of delight. Can you and I be just as committed and driven?
January 9, 2022: “Transformation & Transcendence!”
Reflection by Rev. Pratima Dharm
Transformation can lead to Transcendence: a roadmap to self-discovery through a deeper understanding of yogic self-realization! Rev. Pratima Dharm will speak on January 9th ushering in the New Year 2022 with a message of self-discovery and a path towards spiritual wellbeing and wholeness.
Rev. Pratima Dharm, served as a US Army Chaplain for 12 years both as a Christian and a Hindu Chaplain. After retiring from the US Army she worked as a part time Chaplain at Johns Hopkins Bayview hospital and also served as a part time Minister at Goodloe UU Church in Maryland. She has also served Monte Vista UU Church in Southern CA as their minister in the past. She is currently developing a ministry in Southern CA based upon a Cafe Church that feeds the homeless. She also serves as a Community Minister at North Chapel Society. She has two daughters. Her oldest is a sophomore in college and her younger daughter is in High School.
January 2, 2022: "All"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
“Does everybody count? Do all of us matter? Are we all important under the heavens? What is it that we mean when we say 'all souls' on Sunday morning...and does it really make any difference by Monday afternoon?
December 2021
December 26, 2021: "Christmas Presence"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
“Whadju get?” the young one asked, sitting a pile of wrapping paper. “Whadju get for Christmas?” And the older, wiser one said, “I got more wisdom and that's it.” The older, wiser one wasn't happy about it. The young one noticed and asked why this was so. The older, wiser one responded, “I'm a little blue because I asked Santa for a brand-new guitar and I didn't get it!” In this season of new birth and the miracle of love, can we greet disappointment with beauty, laughter and joy. Is it childish to believe that gifts like these can rise in us, just like the morning star?
Christmas Eve Service
December 24, 2021: "The Art of Christmas"
Reflections by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley, Adrian Tans, and Joan Columbus
Reading from Luke by Jordan Mellinger
Music from The North Chapel Choir Directed by Diane Mellinger
Barbara Abraham, Sharon Blake, Peg Brightman, Anne Dean, Laura Foley, Pierre Fournier, Clara Gimenez, Irene Hanslin, Susan Inui, Tom Inui, Peggy Kannenstine, Juris Kaugerts, Meredith Kendall, Rick Kuniholm, Chris Lloyd, Anne Macksoud, Don Ransom, Deb Rice, Joby Thompson, Ford von Reyn, Richard Waddell, and Etta Warren. - Handbells, Greg Mellinger
December 19, 2021: "An Art That One Can Live In"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
When one is going on an arduous journey, it is wise to wear comfortable shoes. Unfortunately, we are not always wise. Sometimes, we make choices that make it hard for us to get around. Other times, choices are made for us by the world around us. Which choice best serves us now—the choice to wear stylish shoes or comfortable ones? Are we helped or hindered by the art we choose to live in?
December 12, 2021: "Love as a Core Value"
Reflection by Deanna Jones
Deanna will be sharing how "Love as a Core Value" has motivated her throughout her life and work at The Thompson.
Deanna Jones has served in the field of aging services for nearly 30 years beginning as a nursing home activity assistant at the age of 16. After graduating from Campbellsville University in Kentucky, she worked as a home care and hospice aide in New York state before moving to Vermont. These experiences along with several years in the finance department at Kendal at Hanover continuing care retirement community, and as a project manager at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, prepared her for the diverse responsibilities of running a senior center. Deanna has been the Executive Director of The Thompson Center in Woodstock, VT, for 11 years, and serves as Co-Chair of the Vermont Association of Senior Centers and Meal Providers, represents Vermont on the National Council on Aging Senior Center leadership collaborative, and on the Advisory Council for the Tri-State Learning Collaborative on Aging. Deanna and her husband live in Pomfret, VT, with their 4 children.
December 5, 2021: “Uncornered and Unconquered—The Gift of Integrity in Challenging Times”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Who was it that said, “Life is too important to take seriously.”? If we have the courage that we need to accept this, the lightness of life will lead us on… even when the challenges do their best to weigh us down. We defy gravity. We lift our heart and we find ways to grow from the many challenges—
uncornered and unconquered. It starts right here and now.
November 2021
November 28, 2021: “A Nickel's Worth of Free Advice—Stay Foolish”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Have you ever considered the value of foolishness? Have you ever thought about its seemingly endless varieties? Most of the time, we are taught that we need to get beyond our foolishness. And most of the time, this is good advice...but what's it worth? Are there times in life in which it is actually wise to be foolish? How can this possibly be true?
November 21, 2021: “The Tender Sides of Gratitude”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
It’s Thanksgiving time! This is the time for grace and gratitude. Each is so important. They seem to need each other. They seem to go together. They almost rhyme. A young poet writes:
Turkey, turkey, look at you
Please be careful what you do
Thanksgiving Day is almost here
We eat turkey every year
Go and hide out in the woods
We’ll eat pizza like we should
Turkeys are most grateful for the sage advice. For what are we most grateful? How do we find grace and thanks?
November 14, 2021: “Staves that keep this boat afloat…”
Reflection by Chris Cassell
CHRIS CASSELL earned a BA from Bowdoin College. He worked for L.L.Bean for several years before serving in the Peace Corps in Armenia from ’97-’99; thereafter earning an MA in Applied Anthropology from Oregon State University and a teaching certificate from the Upper Valley Educators Institute. Now in his 14th year of teaching, he's taught all of the grades from Pre-K through 5th. Most notably, his family lived on the Red Sea campus of Saudi Arabia’s first co-educational university where Chris taught (and his two children studied) in an international school with students from over 80 nations. Until COVID times, Chris enjoyed traveling with his family, and has had wonderful adventures including a special journey with his family, back to Armenia 20 years after his Peace Corps service and an 11,000 mile, six-week cross-country adventure in a little VW. A medley of Beatles songs and humor got them through thick and thin.
“Due to the sensitive nature of this morning’s worship service, a YouTube recording will not be available this week.
We look forward to posting next week’s service online.
Every blessing.” ~ Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
November 7, 2021: The Rising Sun Sustains Us
Reflection: Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Good morning, sweet November. It’s good to see you again, old friend. As you lay the sun so low on the leaf-bare horizon, its brief light is still enough to keep us going.
October 2021
October 31, 2021: ”Masks and Ghosts and Gourds and Candy (What else do we need?)”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Fall is here! The leaves are turning colors and the nights are growing long. This is the time of Halloween! If you could be anything in the world, if you could live in a life, if you could have any adventure, what would you choose of all of life’s possibilities?
October 24, 2021:”Flying the Blue Peter...what are boats made for?”
Reflection by Rob Schultz
Rob Schultz is the Leadership Upper Valley Manager and Director of Development at Vital Communities. Most recently, he served as Area Coordinator for Granite United Way in the Upper Valley Region. Rob was Executive Director of COVER Home Repair in White River Junction for 9 years. Before working at COVER, Rob was Executive Director for the Farm & Wilderness Foundation for 8 years; helped start a corporate training center for PT Timah in Sumatra Indonesia; and ran programs for Outward Bound in Minnesota, Texas, and New Mexico. He is a graduate of Earlham College and has done graduate work at University of Maryland in International Political Economy. He lives in Hanover with his partner Diane. Their four adult daughters visit often. He is an avid carpenter, cellist, wilderness traveler, and gardener.
October 17, 2021: “What If We Were Faithbook Friends Instead?—Reimagining Social Media”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Sometimes, social media makes social distancing that much harder, especially when it comes to spirituality. Have Facebook friends truly become a beloved community? Has Instagram taught us how to pray? What would social media be like if it fostered a healthier sense of community? What if we were Faithbook friends instead?
October 10, 2021 “Know Self-The Inner Wisdom of the Outer Game of Life”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
In ancient wisdom and in futuristic movies, the insight is still the same. Know thy self. In order to achieve our highest goals and in order to attain our deepest peace, this is always the first step of the journey. What does this journey mean in times as complicated as these?
October 3, 2021: October's Theme -
Navigating Uncertainty: Opportunities and Risks
This week’s reflection was to be offered by Jed Williamson. Unfortunately he could not make it. Service Coordinator Jenny Gelfan navigated the uncertainty with wisdom and grace. She filled the time when we would have had the reflection by reading beautiful and inspiring poetry.
September 2021
September 26, 2021: “Little Emergencies”
Reflection by Kevin Geiger, AICP CFM, TRORC Senior Planner
Professionally, Kevin works in the abstruse art of community planning, which is essentially trying to get people to jointly and democratically decide on what they want their towns to be. However, as rational and helpful as planning is, many folks would much rather not do that, as they instinctively know it will limit their personal freedom.
Outside of work, Kevin is a good cook, a new soccer ref, a slow apple tree pruner, the moderator for Pomfret’s town meeting as well as this church, and a general work in progress.
September 19, 2021: “Wandering in the Desert”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Have you ever felt lost? Have you ever gone through a time that felt like you were wandering in the desert—lost, thirsty and alone? If you have ever felt this way, you already know that it's a difficult experience. If you have not ever felt this way, it might not be possible to imagine that wandering in the desert can be a deep and powerful experience...if we are honest with ourselves, that experience can be beautiful. Given the choice, would you choose honesty?
September 12, 2021: “New Safety Belts—Understanding Risk on the Highway of Spiritual Information”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
What does safety mean for us today? How best can we deal with risk, real danger? How can we balance these with our needs for community? Politics and art have not yet caught up with what we are facing these days. Spirit has. I wonder what Spirit has to say about what we're facing?
September 5, 2021: “The Holy Spirit Flood, UU-style”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Unitarian Universalism is a free and liberal faith. It has been this way throughout history. Yet, what the phrase “free and liberal” meant centuries ago is very different from what it means today. In these winds of change brought on by COVID-19 and in these brought on by the hurricanes winds of climate change that have nurtured Katrina and Ida and Sandy and, of course, our own Irene, what allows us to rise above adversity?
August 2021
August 29: “In This Together: A Service of Resilience, Acceptance and Release” with Rev. Paul Sawyer, Rev. Leon Dunkley, and Rev. Jan Hutslar
“In This Together,” the annual joint service between UU Upper Valley churches and societies will be held at North Universalist Chapel Society (or North Chapel) in Woodstock, Vermont.
The service will also be recorded. The recording will be available soon after the service ends.
Join us as the 5 Upper Valley UU Congregations (Hartland, Woodstock, Strafford, Barnard, Norwich) gather together, in yearly tradition on the last Sunday before Labor Day. We will gather in Woodstock this year.
This Service might be cancelled because of rain.
Dear friends,
We were almost rained out, but at the last minute, the rain subsided and we were able to have an outdoor service. As they say, “If you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait a minute.”
It was a challenging morning for our annual, shared service that gathers congregants together from Hartland, Stafford, Bethel, Barnard, Norwich and Woodstock. The weather forecast was changing. Different towns were having different experiences. It was far too late to cancel. So, we stuck to our original plan, knowing that we might just be rained out...but we were not.
About 45 people showed up! We had umbrellas and had dressed for the weather. The rain stopped a few minutes after 10:00 and we had a lovely service. The reverends Jan, Paul and Leon created a magical morning of music, stories, reminiscences about the resilience of our communities after tropical storm Irene 10 years ago, and beautiful meditation that brought us to a bridge over a river in our minds. What lovely gifts!
Unfortunately, the service could not be recorded. Join us next week when we return to our regular practice.
August 22, 2021: “As Resilient as New Clay”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
I am not an eternal optimist. I don't always spring back to life with vigor. Sometimes I am toppled over by life, by wounds, by rage. How do we engage with the concept of resilience when we would really rather not be bothered.
August 15, 2021: "Music as a Spiritual Practice and Its Place in Life"
Reflection by Sabrina Brown and Fred Haas
How do we balance the listening and being heard in life? How do we delve into our deeper self through either listening to music or singing / playing? We will share how we practice balancing when to listen or how being in the spotlight helps us understand ourselves better and helps us in our business and family.
Fred Haas and Sabrina Brown are members of the North Chapel.
We were married in this UU church nearly 14 years ago, and consider this UU church our spiritual family. We came to the UU church from a background of Buddhist, Transcendental Practices, Christian Science and Methodist religious family experience. Our “common thread” that brought us together, and has challenged our relationship the most is music. Through our work as performers together and in building the non-profit Interplay Jazz & Arts - we have practiced and learned the art of listening, supporting when the other is in the lime-light, and understanding what that balance asks of us. This is the same balance we continue to witness and learn from in our master teachers and in the students and fellow musicians who we have the pleasure of learning and growing with.
Fred is a professor / teacher and professional performer of Jazz music. His career spans 5 decades with success in world-wide performances and recording with many, many well known jazz musicians. Sabrina is a visionary event planner / owner of Woodstock Productions Wedding & Events. She attended college for music and has been singing all her life. They are parents to 5 spectacular children and 7 grandchildren.
August 8, 2021: “Resilience from the Far Side of the Fall”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug was clearly hurting in the 1996 Games. She had torn two ligaments in her left ankle. As a member of the Magnificent Seven, the winsome, all-around women's gymnastics team that represented the United States that year, Kerri felt a great deal of pressure to soldier on. Was that then resilience on her part, when she sought Olympic Gold from the far side of that injurious fall? Is this now resilience, as another Olympic gymnast, Simone Biles, struggles with the meaning and the value of victory.
August 1, 2021: “Sneaking into the Promised Land—Attempt #2 (at least)”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
How many times do we have to try to get into heaven? How many times do we have to get up after we fall down? They say that resilience is the ability to spring back into shape. They say that it is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Without question, we have all been through a very difficult year. How shall we recover? How will we draw on earlier life experiences and spring back into shape?
July 2021
July 25, 2021: “Courage During the Pandemic”
Reflection by Dan Fraiser
You probably know Dan Fraser through his business, Dan and Whit's in Norwich. VT. Besides keeping busy with the store, Dan works with many organizations in the Upper Valley. He serves as Chair of the Hartford Selectboard and secretary of both the Upper Valley Aquatic Center and the Public Health Council. He also works with the Valley Court Diversion, a restorative justice program, Waypoint, a new family resource center, and various condo association boards and town committees in the Hartford/Norwich area.
Summer Sunday Reflections - July 18, 2021
“The Hidden Meaning of the Rain” by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
"What is the first drop of rain dreaming of?" What meaning do we make of rainy days. How do they change us? What do rainy days make possible?
Poetry Moment by Laura Foley
Original Music by Leon Dunkley
Summer Sunday Reflections - July 11, 2021
“Choosing the Better Club” by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Service Coordinator: Mike Backman
“The right tool for the right job!” Scottie exclaimed with passion. He was training young engineers to care for the Starship Enterprise. Star Trek was an old science fiction fantasy show but it gave us good things to think about. We could, then, apply these things to our lives. Cooking in the kitchen, we learned to choose the proper knives to prepare the food in the best way possible. Working in the garage, we learned to choose the proper tool to change the oil and fix the engine. On the golf course, we learned to choose the better club. As we gather again after so much time away, how will we make use of Scottie’s passion?
We apologize for the Sunday Reflection getting emailed out so late last weekend. Technical difficulties with YouTube meant the recording is not on our YouTube channel (yet) but is available on Vimeo in the link below.
July 4, 2021: “I’m Having To Change My Mind About A Lot Of Things These Days”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Change comes fast. Change comes slow. Change comes weather we want it to come or not. Some changes are mundane and some are revolutionary. As we celebrate this Independence Day, the first one following the January Insurrectionette in Washington, D.C., it’s a good time to raise a question: What does freedom mean these days? The definition keeps changing. Freedom from tyranny? Freedom from fear? Freedom from fraud? What definition helps us all to live life more beautifully?
June 2021
June 27, 2021: “The Spiritual Tools of Awakening”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
‘I did not know that I was inflexible,’ I once heard an old friend say. ‘I’m just waking up to that fact now, as old as I am.’ Waking up is so important. A poet writes,
I'm just waking up
The dove is in the dungeon
And the white washed hawks
peddle hate and call it love
This was news to her. She really didn’t understand this before. What are the spiritual tools of awakening? How can we learn them, how can we strengthen them in these late spring/early summer days?
Link to the Service on YouTube
Transcript of the Reflection
June 20, 2021: “"Beautifuler" Things”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
In a rock song, a young artist tries his best to come of age. He tries his best to fulfill the dreams of his father. The inner lives of fathers and sons are paradoxical. For fathers, the best has been given but for sons, the best is yet to come. With this tension unresolved, the young men often have advice...for their fathers and for everyone...
I'd love to tell you to stay inside the line
But something's better on the other side
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
If we were to do the same, if we were to 'run through the halls' of North Chapel giving or reaching for our best, what would we 'scream at the top of our lungs'? Would we cry out for fame or for money or for power…or for "beautifuler" things?
June 10, 2021: “Staying In Conversation”
Reflection by Rev. Gwen Groff
This Sunday Gwen Goff will discuss how we stay in conversation with people with different perspectives.
Gwen grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.She graduated with a BA in English from Franklin and Marshall College and received a MDiv from Lancaster Theological Seminary. She worked with Mennonite Central Committee for 13 years on gender and peace issues. The first three of those years were spent in England, where she met her husband, Robert. She has been the minister at Bethany Mennonite Church in Bridgewater Corners for 21 years. She and Robert are parents of two adult children.
June 6, 2021: "Saving the World When Spring Hangs Up On You”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Spring brings warmth and fun and flowers. It brings the possibility of safe togetherness. It can also bring a tinge of melancholy. T.S. Eliot maintained that April is the cruelest month of the year. This thought inspired a song that was popular in the 1950s—Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most. Melancholy can get in the way. It can keep us from saving the world. It can also be of service to us. Knowing how is the key.
Here is a link to the video that was referred to in the reflection:
"Remembering 1921" with Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9T45OIqvU8&t=356s
May 30, 2021: "This Stage of Our Learning”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
As we consider all that is held in delicate balance in our biosphere, what kind of wakefulness, what kinds of expression and what levels of consciousness will help us to heal at this stage of our learning.
May 2021
May 23, 2021: "Starfall—The Nearness of Loss”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Constellations are sets of stars to which we have given names and stories. These sets of stars and stories are impossibly far away. Leo and Andromeda, Cassiopeia and Orion…never are they near enough to touch. Sometimes, though, stars fall from the sky—crashing through roofs and windows, busting through doorways and breaking our hearts. When our beloved David Doolittle died recently, it was like a star had fallen from the sky. How do we handle loss when it strikes so very close in life?
May 16, 2021: "Healing Our Democracy: The Vision of Braver Angels”
Reflection by Ron Miller
Ron Miller is a retired faculty member at Goddard and Champlain colleges whose research and teaching focused on American history and education. He leads the Woodstock Learning Lab, where he has taught numerous courses on the history of the U.S., Canada and Vermont as well as current political and constitutional issues. Ron is the president of the board of Norman Williams Public Library and was previously the board chair of Sustainable Woodstock. In 2016, he ran in the Democratic primary for state representative. Currently he is attempting to start a local chapter of the national organization Braver Angels.
May 9, 2021: "Daffodils and Motherhood—A Springtime Reflection on Charity, Mercy and Patience
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Happy Mother’s Day! May spring daffodils be blossoming for everyone!!! Mother’s Day has belonged to women who have borne children for more than a century. Woodrow Wilson proclaimed this clearly in 1914. However, the origins of Mother's Day can be traced to the 1870s, to Boston and to a Unitarian woman named Julia Ward Howe. Her proclamation was more beautiful and more powerful than his. Should we bring her vision back to life?
May 2, 2021: "The Lightness of the Soul”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
They say that the human soul weighs only 21 grams. One could carry it around in the back pocket of a pair of old blue jeans without even noticing. Just 21 grams…the weight of a stack of five nickels, the weight of a hummingbird or a chocolate bar. The soul is so light a thing and yet, one can devote one's whole life to it. The soul is so insightful. Shall we follow its example? In these heavy times, can we just sit back and enjoy the lightness of the soul?
April 2021
April 25, 2021: "A Rendezvous of Victory - A Spiritual Reflection on the Loss of George Floyd”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
It’s almost impossible to see what constitutes a ‘win’ in challenging times. It’s hard to know the meaning of success. The good way forward seems so obvious and yet, we have so much trouble choosing it. Without urgency but with grace (and most importantly, in time), the meaning of success reveals itself. So, as the barricades and the razor wire come down in Minneapolis, let us slowly make a monument of victory. I’ll meet you there.
April 18, 2021: "Only Grief"
Reflection by Simon Dennis
Simon Dennis serves as the founding director of the Center for Transformational Practice, a nonprofit organization that supports its region’s transition to a just and sustainable culture by advancing inner transformation as the foundation for positive social change. Prior to this, he spent ten years co-founding and co-directing COVER Home Repair and Reuse Program. Simon recently concluded a nine-year stay on the Hartford Selectboard, including two years as Chair. In these and other community initiatives, his work has been led by the notion that the root causes of our current eco-social crisis lies within human consciousness.
April 11, 2021: "Breath and Breathlessness - Reflections from the Long Road of My Healing"
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Maya Angelou wrote, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” As Derek Chauvin stands trial for killing George Floyd nearly a year ago, what do Maya Angelou's words mean now? Can they help to heal what has been wounded?
April 4, 2021
“The Virtual Easter Egg Hunt and Gentle Returning of Life”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Hidden under budding branches that have yet to out their leaves and emerging from beneath the melting snow is life's potential. After a long, cold winter, a new beginning is upon us. When we look, we will discover.
Wise ones say, "Seek and ye shall find." It's true. The seeds of life are everywhere around us. Let's scavenge for them!! Shall we?
March 2021
March 28, 2021 “Preaching to the Choir”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
They say that preaching to the choir is a senseless act.
They say it is an exercise in futility. The saying refers to the pointlessness of preachers who strive “to convert those who, by their presence in church, have already demonstrated their faith.” Well, the choir hasn’t been “present in church” in quite a while. So, maybe things have changed. Maybe it’s time to revisit this idea, to reimagine its possibilities. Maybe it’s time to reconsider what “preaching to the choir” might mean for us today.
March 21, 2021 “Embracing Present Possibilities”
Reflection by Gareth Henderson
Gareth Henderson is the owner and founder of Omni Reporter, a website providing news and uplifting insights about the precious world we all share. He is also a correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor in Boston and has worked in journalism for 20 years, including serving in editorial leadership roles at the Rutland Herald and Vermont Standard. Gareth is deeply rooted in Vermont, graduated from Woodstock Union High School, and is based in Woodstock, where he lives with his wife and daughter. Whichever story he happens to be working on, the goal is to help mankind, and provide information that reflects progress and inspires more of it.
March 14, 2021: “Kindness Is Also Possible”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Inspired in part by the loving gesture of our beloved Wendy Ann Smith, we reflect on the gentle power of loving kindness. We reflect on generosity, humility and the joy of what is possible despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges of life.
March 7, 2021: “The First Waltz (or The Threshold of Possibility—Part Two)”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Arundhati Roy once said, “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way.” This is the threshold of possibility. She said, “On a quiet day, if I listen very carefully, I can hear her breathing.” Can you hear the new world coming? If she asks us to dance, will we accept? What will that be like…our first waltz with a brand new world?”
Link to the Service on YouTube
February 2021
February 28, 2021:The Last Waltz (or The Threshold of Possibility—Part One)
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
March 3rd marks a difficult anniversary. It is the 30th anniversary of the police beating of a man named Rodney King. King was on parole, speeding and under the influence when he fled from the police in Los Angeles. When they caught him, four officers encircled him and beat him brutally—striking his body 50-60 times with batons, with fists, with feet, with fear. This could have been our last waltz with systemic violence but it was not. How do we faithfully re-imagine hopefulness, optimism and positivity now that three decades have gone by?
February 21, 2021 “Is the Threshold of American Serenity Made of Kryptonite?”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
In a PBS documentary called American Reckoning, host Judy Woodruff interviewed a journalist named George Packer (The Atlantic). He has noticed a collapse in the heartland of our country, “a collapse of traditional sources of authority and of meaning.” The church is in crisis. The company closed. The power of the union has faded. Local newspapers are owned and operated by people from out of town. Somehow, we have wandered from our garden of serenity…and now, it seems so hard to get back in. What stands in our way? How will we get through this? What superpowers do we need right now?
February 14, 2021 “Musings On Love”
Reflection by Laura Foley and Clara Gimenez
Laura Foley and Clara Gimenez reflect about the different expressions of love on this Valentine’s Day.
Originally from Madrid, Spain, Clara Gimenez is an attorney. She has served as a law clerk for the Hon. Jeffrey L. Amestoy, the former chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and practiced law in Burlington, Vermont. She is currently an Associate Professor at the Vermont Law School.
Laura Foley, an award-winning, internationally published poet, is the author of seven collections of poetry. She has trained in chaplaincy through the Zen Center for Contemplative Care and looks forward to resuming hospital visits when that becomes possible again, after COVID.
Clara and Laura live in South Pomfret with their two dogs and their thirty thousand, or so, bees.
February 7, 2021 “Excuse Me, Mr. Dragon…”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
In The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche explained that our deepest fears are like dragons guarding the threshold that separates us from life’s greatest treasures. If he is right, then we just might have to tangle with the dragons when the dragons do not step out of our way. Are you up for it? I’m not. I’m pretty tired…but choosing not to tangle doesn’t make life any easier. In fact, I fear the opposite is true. So, maybe I am up for it after all. Are you with me?
January 2021
January 31, 2021 “Which Common Good?”
Reflection by Rowley Hazard
Rowley Hazard grew up on a farm in Norwich. He studied classics in college, cooked for a while, then went to medical school. His clinical and research careers were devoted to the care of people disabled by chronic back pain. The lessons he learned from them will be published in May: Talking Back: How to Overcome Chronic Back Pain and Rebuild Your Life. He is hoping the virus will vanish, bringing back live music, including the Mad Hazard Band.
His reflection is about the trouble with the common good when people disagree about what is best. Kindness is the best personal approach.
January 24, 2021: “All for One and One for All or ME? or WE?”
Reflection by Veronica Delay
The theme for our services this month is the Common Good. In her reflection today, Veronica Delay shares her thoughts about the common good. Here’s a snippet from her thoughtful reflection:
“An article by the Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University concludes: “Everywhere, it seems, social commentators are claiming that our most fundamental social problems grow out of a widespread pursuit of individual interests.” She continues “I often complain about politics and inequality because I believe that in this country, there is enough for everyone. Somehow, we have to find a way to change our conversations from ME to WE. Our ‘common fate’ – our survival – depends on it. It requires us to sacrifice some of our freedom, some of our personal goals and self-interests. It asks us to look around, open our hearts and be more inclusive.”
January 17, 2021: Carrying Freedom
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Martin Luther King always seemed to carry around with him a copy of “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau. Although Civil Disobedience was written way back in 1849, it helped King write his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” 114 years later. King read Civil Disobedience to learn what it had to say of freedom but how did he carry it with him? Did his carry it around in his briefcase? …in his back pocket? …in his hand? …in his heart? Where do you carry freedom? Is it heavy? Is it light?
January 10, 2021: Leadership and the Common Good
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
In the triumph and the tragedy of recent, national events, what does leadership look like? What does spiritual leadership look like? How can we work together for the common good when we can’t even find common ground?
January 17, 2021: Carrying Freedom
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Martin Luther King always seemed to carry around with him a copy of “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau. Although Civil Disobedience was written way back in 1849, it helped King write his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” 114 years later. King read Civil Disobedience to learn what it had to say of freedom but how did he carry it with him? Did his carry it around in his briefcase? …in his back pocket? …in his hand? …in his heart? Where do you carry freedom? Is it heavy? Is it light?
January 3, 2021: Insight Is 2021
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Ever since optometry gave us the language to say it, we have been saying, “Hindsight is 20/20.” To have 20/20 vision is not exceptional. 20/20 vision is average vision. Of course, 2020 has been far less than an average year. It is so good to be putting this terrible year behind us. To do this well, we will need tools. We will need hindsight. We will need forethought. And, most of all, we will need insight. Insight is 2021.
December 2020
December 27, 2020: “Got Transformation?”
Reflection by Rev. Neal Anderson
How do we navigate the seemingly constant call for our personal growth and transformation with the knowing and affirmation that we have worth and dignity just the way we are? How does the call for transformation of our individual selves inform our larger call to transform the world into one of love and justice?
Rev. Neal Anderson serves the UU Church of Greater Lansing as Senior Minister. Prior to his 2019 call to Lansing Rev. Neal served congregations in Walnut Creek, CA and Reno, NV.
December 24, 2020:
Christmas Eve Service
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Call down the blessing of hope and possibility!! It’s Christmas time! Ring the bells and deck the halls. In this wintry darkness, call in the light and hope of Christmas. Let’s lift our hearts and lift our voices in celebration! Happy Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas!!
The Christmas Eve offering is dedicated to two funds that provide food, shelter, and emergency help to our neighbors:50% will go to the North Chapel Minister’s Discretionary Fund,50% will go to the Haven of the Upper Valley which just celebrated 40 Years of service to the region’s most vulnerable residents. Here is the link for donations.Thank you for your generosity.
We will miss seeing you for the traditional Christmas Eve Service that is dear to our hearts. We hope you enjoy our online version which was so beautifully compiled by our Music Director Diane Mellinger. We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the service.
December 20, 2020: “The Open Hand of Christmas”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley & Sophie Leggett
Merry days and good tidings! It’s Christmas time again. Snow is coming down! It’s falling dauntlessly from the sky. It’s falling like a blessing that just won’t quit! Our love is like that. Joy is this relentless. What shall we do the magnitude of this gift? Join Sophie Leggett and I as we try to answer this question. Sophie is back from her first semester at college, so she’s really smart now! Come join us!!
December 13, 2020:“I Love the Dark Hours of My Being—A Meditation on Modified Joy”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Find the joy in the darkness. Find risk and candlelight. Find happiness and sorrow. Find mystery’s delight. This is the time of Advent, the time of anticipation and the time of waiting. We wait for the light in a time of shadow. Yet, in the darkness, it is possible to find peace and safety amid great danger. It is possible to let the good light in. Let’s give it a try. It’s almost Christmas. I can feel the magic growing.
December 6, 2020: “The Best of My Heart”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Forgiveness can be the hardest thing. It can be the best thing too. It’s just so complicated sometimes. For all of its difficulties, forgiveness still offers the possibility of highest joy. Joy is hard to reach when sorrows are weighing us down. But how can we let them go in a healthy way?
November 2020
November 29, 2020: “Fall In Love”
Reflection by Rev. Gwen Goff
Fr. Pedro Arrupe says that what you are in love with will affect everything. It will decide “what will get you out of bed in the morning,…
what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.”
Mary Oliver says she’s fallen in love many times, sometimes with men, sometimes women, and sometimes with trees, or a piece of music, or clouds, or the sun. We all fall in love, repeatedly. My son has his “celebrity crush” and my spiritual director has her “heartthrob” and I am “a little bit in love.”
I’ve been thinking about who and what we fall in love with and why. What do we want from these fallings?
And why is falling in love really all about me? (in a good way!).
Nov. 22, 2020: “Prelude to a Kiss”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Let’s go deeper now. Let’s go softer and more beautifully. Let us go more gently into these more darkening days…with lamplight enough to guide us and fire within to keep us warm. Let us reinvent this world in ways that are sustainable, in ways that are survivable, in ways that are lovingly courageous. The artists have done it. They’ve shown us the way. The children have done it. They’ve shown us at play…and now it is our turn. It is our turn to save the world. Thank God. Let’s go. We got this! All we have to do is figure out how.
Nov. 15, 2020: “Practicing Gratitude”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
This week in American life, things could not be more polarized. In some cases, they could not be more ridiculous. Before the election, there were those who were predicting a presidential landslide for the Right. At the same time, there were those who were predicting a presidential landslide for the Left. If little else right now, at least, we have that in common. But you know what, there’s so much more.
Nov. 8, 2020: “Life in the Shoulder Season”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
Different things are happening at once. It is warm this weekend but I shoveled snow a few days ago. I wrote a letter to an old friend of mine but I haven’t heard back from him yet. Election Day has come and gone but the outcome is in question. We are in the shoulder season…in more ways than one.
Russell Banks writes, “I was situated at that moment in the turning of the northern year, when the end of winter and the start of spring overlap like shingles on a roof and the natural world seems doubled in thickness and density.”
Life is like that sometimes. What are we going to do about it?
Nov. 1, 2020: Cast Your Vote, Your Vow…
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
In this challenging time, with the presidency in the balance and so much turmoil everywhere we look, casting your vote is so important. It is a fundamental right in American society. To flourish, though, we can do much more. We can cast our vow. We can make a promise to ourselves and to one another as Americans, we can cast our vow for a better world and we can make it so. What do we need to do that? Who do we have to be?
October 2020
October 25, 2020: “Meditations for Resilience and Resistance”
Reflection by Julie Puttgen
Julie Puttgen is an artist, therapist, and activist. A committed meditator since 1995 and former Buddhist nun, she facilitates retreats and programs exploring the intersections of Art and Dharma. Julie has a BA in Studio Art from Yale University, an MFA from Georgia State University, and an MA in Counseling from Goddard College.
Julie has served as oncology chaplain, art professor, and currently practices as a Dharma teacher and a clinical mental health counselor with specializations in expressive arts and mindfulness-based approaches. Julie Puttgen lives in Lebanon, NH with her husband and two dogs (aka “the beasts”).
October 18, 2020: “Sweet Grapes”
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
In our search for truth and meaning, Unitarian Universalists tend to turn things upside down. We turn things on their heads to gain perspective. We are drawn to novel ways of looking at the world. This practice helps us to live life directly, to experience life first hand. This helps us to see things for ourselves…with our own eyes. Sometimes, this works out in our favor and other times, it does not. When things don’t work out for us, we end up making costly mistakes. However, when things DO work out for us, we discover the sweetness of life, as if for the first time in the history of the world. Let’s try this today. How will things work out for us this time.
Welcome: Mary Jean Taylor – Altar Decor: Fran Lancaster
October 11, 2020: Power Outage and the Sheer Enjoyment of Being
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
An eighth-grade student in Utah raised a question to the next Vice President of the United States of America? She asked, “If our leaders can’t get along, how are the citizens supposed to get along?” Powerful leadership brings us all together in times of crisis. Without it, it is as if we are lost at sea. In such times, how do we make our way back to the shoreline?
Welcome: Richard Waddell – Altar Decor: Diane Doubleday
October 4, 2020: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness
Reflection by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley
When the challenges are all around us, when darkness closes its wings and descends, how do we keep our dreams alive? We cannot do it with romance. We cannot do it with platitudes. We cannot do it with false hope about the world but we can with faith. How do we find that inner light in this time of darkness?
September 2020
September 27, 2020:
Reflection by Kate Braestrup
The daughter of a foreign correspondent, Kate Braestrup spent her childhood in Algiers, New York City, Paris, Bangkok, Washington, DC and Sabillasville, Maryland. Educated at the Parsons School of Design, the New School and Georgetown University, Kate has her masters degree from Bangor Theological Seminary, and received an honorary doctorate from Unity College in 2010.
Kate married Trooper James Andrew “Drew” Griffith in 1985.
Trooper Griffith was killed in the line of duty in 1996 in a car accident, leaving Kate a widow with four young children.
In 1997, Kate entered Seminary and was ordained as a community minister in 2004. Since 2001, she has served as chaplain to the Maine Warden Service, joining game wardens as they search the wild lands and fresh waters of Maine for those who have lost their way, and offering comfort to those who wait for the ones they love to be rescued.
Kate is the bestselling author of the award-winning Here If You Need Me (Little-Brown, 2006) named one of TIME Magazine’s ten best books of 2006, and Marriage and Other Acts of Charity (Little-Brown, 2009), Beginner’s Grace (Simon and Schuster, 2010) and Anchor & Flares (Little-Brown, 2015). Her work has appeared in numerous publications including the New York Times Sunday Magazine, More, O (the Oprah Magazine) Good Housekeeping, and she is a sought-after public speaker around the country and abroad.
Kate is married to artist Simon van der Ven and between them, they have a total of six children and one splendid grandson!
Opening: Don Ransom and Susan Inui, Closing: Mary Blanton
September 20, 2020: “Healing Power of Poetry”
Reflection by James Crews, Barbara Crooker, and Laura Foley
Three acclaimed, much-published, poets read from their works, and reflect on the healing powers of poetry.
James Crews is the author of four collections of poetry and editor of the popular Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection. He works one-on-one with writers as a creative coach and lives with his husband on an organic farm in Shaftsbury, VT.
The author of nine books of poetry, Barbara Crooker’s work has appeared in a variety of journals, and anthologies such as Looking for God in All the Right Places and Summer: A Spiritual Biography of the Season. A recipient of many poetry awards and residencies, Barbara lives with her husband in Pennsylvania.
Laura Foley is the author of seven poetry collections. Her poems have won numerous awards, and national recognition—read frequently by Garrison Keillor on The Writers Almanac; appearing in Ted Kooser’s American Life in Poetry. A member of North Chapel, Laura lives with her wife, Clara, among the hills of Pomfret, Vermont.
Opening: Anne Marinello, Closing: Mary Blanton
